Richmond Food News: Week of Jan. 5-9

Happy Friday to you, Richmond! We've got free Carytown Cupcakes, new restaurants, new partnerships, Elby Awards updates and more, more, more. Let's get down to it because there's no time to waste when free confections are on the line.

GWARbar opened on New Year's Eve in Jackson Ward last week after an 11th-hour liquor license approval from Virginia ABC. As you could have guessed, there were many (many) shots taken in the late Dave Brockie's honor that night. Take a peek inside the new restaurant and bar here, then stop by and take a few shots in his honor, yourself. (Richmond magazine)

And in other huge and exciting Richmond food news, Owen Lane, co-owner and chef of The Magpie, is also becoming co-owner and chef of Estilo. Estilo will close from Jan. 18 to 25 while Lane implements an almost entirely new menu that sources meat and produce from the same distributors he uses for The Magpie. (Richmond Times Dispatch/Richmond.com)

There's a new Urban Farmhouse in Scott's Addition. It's big. It's beautiful. It's got a whole of seating and a large patio, with a focus on the cafe's market and retail section. (RVAnews)

Here's a little something to make you feel warm and fuzzy in the midst of this freezing, wintry week: Carytown Cupcakes is paying it forward with free cupcakes (but sans Haley Joel Osment) throughout the month of January. If you're approached by a stranger and given a cupcake in Carytown, don't panic; if this stranger is with Carytown Cupcakes, they're not trying to poison you, but instead they're hoping you'll commit one random act of kindness that day. Let the kindness circle be deliciously unbroken, etc. (WTVR/CBS 6)

Buddy's Place opens next Thursday, Jan. 15, with a new chef and new digs. Executive Chef Carly Herring (formerly of C'est Le Vin) has revamped the menu with upscale bar fare like tempura shrimp, stuffed mushrooms and Burrata. (Richmond Times Dispatch/Richmond.com)

How are those January detoxes treating you? We spoke to a few #RVAdine industry professionals to learn which diets and cleanses these pros are trying this month, and how they're faring. (Richmond magazine)

And now for a very important Elby Awards PSA: Our remaining tickets are running low for the 2015 Elby Awards, which take place on Sunday, Jan. 25. (Don't say we didn't warn you.) Doors open at 6 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where a red-carpet, pre-ceremony reception will include cocktails and appetizers from Kitchen on Cary until 6:45 p.m. At 7 p.m., the awards ceremony will begin in all its Studio 54-themed glory, ending at 8 p.m. A post-ceremony soiree in the VMFA's Marble Hall will include food from Culinard and J. Sargeant Reynolds culinary arts programs, cocktails from Belle Isle Moonshine, Taste the Local beers and wine from Tap 26. Don your finest disco garb for best results and come celebrate the Richmond dining industry in style.

And now for a few (inter)national items:

In the mood for free Chipotle? (Of course you are.) Step one: On Jan. 26, order any dish with sofritas, the chain's tofu option. Step two: Bring in your sofritas receipt between Jan. 27 and Feb. 28 for a free entrée of your choice. (Foodbeast)

If you're hoping to kick off the new year with a clean pantry, here's a guide from the Bon Appetit test kitchen to help you organize and clear out your kitchen. (Bon Appetit)

... And keep laughing with this story about an impostor Gordon Ramsay restaurant, "Gordon Ransay." We can only image the Kitchen Nightmares-level yelling the celebrity chef is doing because of this. (Eater)

California's foie fans have cause to celebrate now that the statewide foie gras ban has been lifted. (The Los Angeles Times)

And Nazi-bred cattle are making a comeback, or so imagined one UK farmer when he imported the breed. Due to Nazi fascination with eugenics, the animals are just as mean, murderous and strong as you'd imagine, and the farmer in question seriously regrets his decision to raise them, unless he's raising them to be sausages. His struggle.(Modern Farmer)